World of Cards
by The Confederacy
Summary: Alfred F. Jones is a young archeologist. At least, that's what he believes. All the people around him, however, say he's the king. The king of a kingdom called Spades. Is Alfred really king, or is their something going on that he doesn't understand?
1. Intro to the World of Cards

_Excerpt from, Cards: A Study of Our World by the 7th Jack of Spades_

_ It is unknown when our great kingdom truly began, just that it rose from the ashes of the old to unite this world. Our world, the world of Cards, is balanced precariously by the whims of magic and us fragile mortals that dare to defy fate at every turn. Before the four kingdoms, Spades, Diamonds, Hearts and Clubs, existed the world was overruled by chaos. There was no civilization, no order to be found. Because of this all we know is that the gods descended on Cards, disguised as mere mortals, to find the ones who would save the world. It is said that they searched for many years to find the right people._

_Just as they were ready to give up and leave the world to die, they heard it. A prayer from down below, after they had not heard any since the beginning of time. The prayer was from a boy named Ælfræd _ _ gods followed the prayer to find a boy of enormous strength, but that was not enough. They watched the boy as he grew slowly into a man. They were happy to find that along with the great strength, the man also possessed a great sense of righteous justice._

_The gods then revealed themselves to him, asking him what it was he prayed for. Ælfræd answered and the gods were satisfied. They crowned him king and bid him to find a queen and a jack to help him serve and create a great kingdom. The man agreed and set out into the world. The queen became a man named Arthur Kirkland. Though he was a seemingly cold man, he had great skill with magic and was fair in heart and mind. _

_The jack was a man named Wang Yao. This man was very cool headed and rarely let emotions get in the way of his choices. With the three royals chosen the gods gave each of them a sign to prove their nobility. The jack was given a bag made out of a rare animal hide. The queen was given a staff made out of an ancient oak that had been blessed by magic. The kings was given a magnificent watch, made of almost pure gold._

_Each of these items were enchanted to choose the best ruler after these three. The purse was enchanted to be able to hold any amount of things and, when the jack was found, a beautiful bird would fly out of it's depths to show where the jack was. After it would stay with the jack to help guide them and only leave when the stepped down or died. The scepter was enchanted to increase the queens control of magic and, when the queen was found, it would glow a bright blue and show the queen an image of the castle. The watch was enchanted to only work in the kings hand and, when the kings was found, it would show an image of the kings on it's face. The three accepted the items and promised to do their best._

_Years passed and once again they were called down to earth by Ælfræd. He explained that though they did their best, they could not unite the world on their own. They requested that the gods find other kings, queens and jacks to help. The gods, seeing the wisdom in their thoughts, agreed and set out on their search. Finally they found three other sets of kings, queens and jacks. They met and the gods decided on the names for each kingdom._

_First was Clubs, the kingdom of snow. The people of Clubs were stouthearted and would stand their ground for their beliefs. Along with this they could also be stubborn and cruel, not listening to reason. The king of Clubs was a man name Ivan Braginski, the queen was Elizabeta Hedarvery and the jack was Roderich Edelstein. Next was Hearts, the kingdom of fire. The people of Hearts were fierce and disciplined._

_Along with this they could be overly warlike and strict, not allowing emotions. The king of Hearts was Ludwig Beilschmidt, the queen was Kiku Honda and the jack was Feliciano Vargas. Then it was Diamonds, the kingdom of ice. The people_ _of Diamonds were passionate and romantic._ _Along with this they could be selfish and perverted. The king of Diamonds was Francis Bonnefoy, the queen was Lili Zwingli and the jack was Vash Zwingli._

_ Finally was Spades, the kingdom of earth. The people of Spades were fair and just. Along with this they could be naive and let their emotions rule them. As said before the king was Ælfræd Jones, the queen was Arthur Kirkland and the jack was Wang Yao._ _With the four kingdoms chosen the world was brought into order. Ælfræd, his queen and his jack ruled Spades for many years._

_ Sadly the peace could not last. It is said that Clubs became thirsty for power and decided to train their sights on Spades. They killed Ælfræd and his family, making it impossible for another Jones to come to power. The queen, Arthur, found out Clubs deception and declared war. Clubs was joined in their struggle by Hearts and Spades by Diamonds. The war did not last long, but at a great tole. Queen Arthur Kirkland died during battle and Jack Wang Yao died only a year after the war. _

_Spades was thrown into chaos and many tried to take the thrown for themselves. Eventually the signs of power, the king's pocket watch, the queen's staff and the jack's bag, chose new monarchs, but it was well known that they could not come close to the power of the first three._ _Since then Cards has been at peace, threatened only by foreigners from distant lands. Despite the fact that the Jones' were supposed to be wiped out, the gods gave a prophecy._

When Cards is once again ruled by chaos and war  
And the suits choose sides  
An eagle will rise to become the hero

The kings, queen and jack of old shall come together again  
And stronger rulers shall never be found  
The eagle will be strong, but he will be new to our land

He shall need the help of his queen and jack  
Lest Cards be ruled by chaos forever

_There is much speculation as to what this mean, but a general agreement has been reached. It is believed that the first paragraph means that war will come to cards again and each kingdom shall choose a side. The rest of prophecy is to obscure to be deciphered, but_ _there have always been whispers. Many believe that it means the first kings, queens and jacks will be reborn and take their respective places again. However, because of the death of Ælfræd Jones and his family, this theory was dis-proven._ _Still, the minds of the people cannot be controlled and there are whispers. Whispers of the ancient prophecy and the possibility of a lone Jones child escaping into another world._


	2. The New King

Alfred walked around the ancient looking castle, completely disoriented. The last thing he remembered was walking around the castle with the rest of his class, but now he head no idea where he was. He was sure he was in the same castle except for one thing. These halls were falling apart, pieces of walls already missing. The guide had said that though the castle was old, it was in wonderful condition. He sighed and walked down another hall.

Honestly, it wasn't really his fault. While it was true he had gotten lost from his group because of his curiosity, he hadn't meant to get lost. He leaned against a sturdy looking wall and looked out one of the high windows, though they were really just holes high up on the wall, worriedly. It was starting to grow dark and he was sure he had heard the guide saying something about the castle being haunted. Not that he was scared, though. Alfred hadn't been scared of ghosts since he was a kid.

Speaking of which, he suddenly found himself thinking of his brother, Matthew. He hadn't talked to him for awhile, not since his last visit, and really missed him. Alfred had moved from his homeland, America, to England to a college to become an archeologist. While the one England wasn't the best, it had always been his dream to go there. Matthew, on the other hand, decided to become a veterinarian. Alfred was pretty sure he was already have way to the South Pole to take care of that Polar Bear he had been talking about.

Alfred shook his head and chuckled. Though the light was small, and growing smaller, it was still enough to light up the ancient hall. Alfred's hair was a golden blonde color, going perfectly with his sky blue eyes, which were sparkling at the thought of his younger, and often forgotten, brother. He was tall, though not shockingly so, almost reaching 6 feet. At 25 he had long since grown into his body and boasted a wonderful physique. His shoulders were broad, perfect for his past years on the football team, and his muscles were obvious underneath the simple t-shirt he wore.

On his face sat a delicately balanced pair of glasses. The pair he wore were no where near his face, as they had a nasty tendency to fall off. Matthew, or Matty as Alfred affectionately called him, often joked that it was because he was such an air head. Alfred pushed off of the wall and continued to walk down the hall. He wasn't lost, he assured himself. Oh no, just a little...turned around.

"That's right. The hero can't get lost!"Alfred boasted, nodding to reassure himself.

Alfred continued down the hall and soon found himself in front of two large wooden doors. The doors was intricately carved with flowing vines and...were those spades? Alfred shook his head at the strangeness of old civilizations and opened the door. He grunted, the door much heavier than he expected. Alfred stepped inside and stopped dead. On the other side of the door was the largest room he had ever seen.

The floor was made out of blue and black marble placed in a checkerboard pattern. Despite his height, Alfred had to crane his head to see the ceiling, which was covered in a beautiful painting depicting a large hand descending out of the clouds holding a watch, staff and bag. Alfred furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. It was probably just something that looked like a watch he decided. He walked down the hall, intending to look at the three thrones at the end of the hall, but he heard something behind him and before he could see what it he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and everything went black. A few miles away, in a castle very similar to the one Alfred lay passed out in, an ancient yet beautiful watch face flashed the image of a young man with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes, behind a pair of square glasses.

* * *

Queen Arthur Kirkland paced his study nervously. Once again he had gotten a letter that had barely concealed threats about his rise to the throne. The letters didn't really scare him, after all there was no way they could get close to him, but they were very annoying. He walked to the open window, enjoying the feeling of the breeze wafting in. His messy, pale blonde hair shifted a bit from the wind and his green eyes flicked about, looking at the different flowers in his garden. While Arthur definitely wasn't the tallest or most handsome man in the kingdom, he had often heard himself called the prettiest.

He was about 5'5'' and looked like he could use a bit of excersize. To Arthur's dismay, that's how he had always been. From the time he was a child Arthur had a slender figure. Along with that came pale skin that burned horribly in the sun and easily showed his blushes when he was flustered, embarrassed or just plain angry. Which happened quite often. While it was nowhere as near as bad as during his pirate day, Arthur's temper was still a very evident part of his personality.

Suddenly the doors to his study were thrust open and Arthur turned around, insults and threats dying on his tongue. In the door way stood the Jack, Wang Yao, looking more flustered than Arthur had ever seen him. Wang Yao was an effeminate man. He had pale skin, like Arthur's, and a womanly figure, minus the breasts. He kept his black hair long, usually in a ponytail, which really didn't help. His eyes were a very dark brown, easily mistaken for black, and they were usually calm with an underlying air of intelligence and cunning. Now, however, his dark eyes were flashing, bits of hair falling from his ponytail and a small blush on his cheeks.

"The king,"He burst out, without his normal decorum."We've found him, aru!"

"You...What?"Arthur asked, not sure he had heard right.

"We've found the king, aru!"Yao repeated.

Arthur stood dumbstruck. After years of searching they had finally found the king. Suddenly a few guards came in, carrying an unconscious man between them. They laid him on the couch and, after a nod from Yao, Arthur stepped forward to take a look at the new king. He had golden blonde hair and Arthur ran his hair threw it, discovering how soft it was. He moved his hand down to cup his cheek, finding his slightly tanned skin almost as soft.

Arthur continued his inspection, looking at the man's clothed chest. He lifted the shirt a bit to find that, despite the man's toned looking figure, he was a bit on the chubby side. Other than that, he had a perfect physique and, as far as Arthur could tell, he had no scars. Arthur looked up to find himself staring into the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Said eyes were currently wide with surprise and a bit of fear.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you're doing?"The man asked calmly.

"My name is Arthur Kirkland,"Arthur answered, not surprised by his arrogance. He had already concluded that he was probably a farm boy or something of the like."Queen of Spades."

"You're the queen,"The man said slowly."Of Spades."

"Yes, that's right."Arthur replied.

"But you're a man."The man pointed out.

"Last time I checked, yes."Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"A man can't be queen. And what the hell is Spades,"The man looked between him and Yao before jumping up and pointing at the latter."You! You're the one who hit me!"

"You hit him?"Arthur asked, incredulously.

"Ah. Well. You see, he was snooping around the old castle,"Yao explained."And I thought he might be a thief, aru."

"How did he get there?"Arthur asked. The old castle was many miles away from the one Arthur currently lived in.

"I'm not sure, aru."Yao shrugged.

"Uh, I'm still here you know."The man said, waving his hand.

"Oh, yes. Sorry about that, love,"Arthur smiled and turned to him."What's your name?"

"I'm Alfred F. Jones,"The man, Alfred, stuck out his hand, taking it back when he was met with only stares."What?"

"That's impossible. Tell the truth."Arthur was now glaring at him.

"I am telling the truth,"Alfred burst out."My name's Alfred F. Jones. I'm from America and I'm taking classes in England to become an archeologist! I have a younger brother, Matthew Williams! I could call him right now to have him confirm this!"

"What is America, aru?"Yao asked.

"What the bloody hell is England?"Arthur asked.

"You're kidding. Right? From your accent you're obviously British. How can you not know your own country,"Alfred looked between them."How could either of you not know about America? Everyone knows about America! It's the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

"How hard...did you hit him?"Arthur asked after awhile, turning to Yao.

"Hey! I'm not crazy, bushy-brows!"Alfred exclaimed, accidentally hitting a soft topic.

Instead of replying, Arthur sent him a furious glare, which made him step back, and stormed after the room. Alfred looked confusedly to Yao who just shook his head. Arthur stalked through the halls, absolutely furious. It didn't matter if he was the King. Arthur was going to find some way to punish him. First the man claims to have the surname of a famous, revered family, long since past and then he had the gall to mention Arthur's eyebrows. Arthur glared at nothing in particular as he stalked into the garden outside his study. Unknown to him, a pair of very interested bright blue eyes followed his movements as he paced in the garden.

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XD I am so amazed! So many favorites and follows from the first chapter alone!*happy dance* Also, thanks to Guest for being my first reviewer! Hugs! (^O^) Here's the next chapter for you! That's all! Thanks for reading and press that nice little review button before you leave!


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